The Day the Titania Nearly Sank
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 485/489/491/493/495: Kurt's new murder mystery dinner takes his players out to cruise the ocean...
1. The Case of the Titania

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 23rd cycle. Now cycle 24!_

___This is my third murder mystery dinner story, the first one being **The Case of Lady Lark** (days 260, 281, 302, and 323), and the second being **The Haunting At Noble House** (days 431-435) . This one will be done over the next little while, not one per cycle! Chapter 1 on day 485, followed by days 489, 491, 493, and 495..._  


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**"The Day the Titania Nearly Sank"**

**1. The Case of the Titania  
Kurt, Tina, Mercedes, Finn, Rachel,  
Artie, Santana, Matt, Mike, Brittany **

It really wasn't long before he started thinking about it, after the way the last one had gone… a complete success. They were all actually anxious for what was to come, without even knowing about plot or characters… If that wasn't reason enough, he didn't know what was. So he started browsing games again.

He had a couple of factors to keep in mind, primarily the number of players. Last time he'd been partly ambushed with new players, and he'd managed to make it work, but this time he was going to be prepared, with some back-up characters in his back pocket. As it turned out, he was right to.

He'd brought his planning notebook to school, a pre-emptive strike, knowing Mr. Stuckey was subbing his English class. He had selected his game, now he just had to cast everyone. There were eight of them last time, including himself, and he'd seen no sign of anyone not wanting to repeat the activity, so…

"Hey there, Mr. DeMille," he heard Santana's voice and he turned his eyes up to find her and Brittany sitting just one row in front of him, looking back.

"Judging by the reference, I'm guessing you…"

"We have a couple new recruits for you for the next murder mystery," Santana went on. Kurt kept quiet, waiting for her to go on. "We spoke to Mike and Matt," she started.

"I think they were confused," Brittany cut in. "I told them I died twice… I hope they don't think we're killing anyone for real… But, really, I just hope they don't think I'm a zombie now…"

"Anyway," Santana picked up again. "Once I explained it to them, they said they were in, so… make it happen?" she smiled.

"Is this your 'please' face?" Kurt asked. Brittany looked to Santana.

"Yeah, that's it," she pointed. Santana cleared her throat.

"Well?" she asked Kurt.

"Will you be needing to have your death scene again?" he asked.

"Surprise me," she told him before getting up and walking off, Brittany in tow. Kurt sighed and looked back to his notebook. He entered Mike and Matt's names, then thought… He took his eraser and removed some of the arrows he'd made; time for a little recasting…

A few days later, he had his envelopes in hand, walking into school. Knowing how they all expected it with excitement now, he had to admit he was kind of anxious as well. The first one he found – or, really, who found him – was Tina, soon followed by Mercedes.

"New dinner game?" Tina asked. Kurt confirmed by pulling the envelopes with their names on them.

"Okay, here you go," he served Tina first. "It's a cruise out at sea, murder, of course… You play Clare Davidson, travelling with your husband; that's Artie," he filled in before she asked. "You're upper class, but good-hearted."

"Like Kathy Bates in Titanic?" Tina asked, smiling.

"Basically, yeah," Kurt pointed, before looking to Mercedes. "Now you," he indicated the envelope, "You're Teresa Thomas. You're also a guest, travelling on your own though, and there's a reason, but it's a secret," he threw a quick glance to Tina, "So you'll have to see for yourself by reading." Mercedes looked excited at that.

Kurt had just barely walked away from the pair when he spotted Rachel and Finn coming his way. Before they'd even reached him, Kurt reached into the stack and found their envelopes.

"Hello, Stevensons," he held out the envelopes. Finn frowned; Rachel grinned.

"Married?" she asked.

"Newlyweds, passengers," Kurt confirmed, and Rachel's smile only grew, looking to Finn, who had taken a turn for the smiles now. "Stewart and Angela Stevenson, on their honeymoon," was all he'd say; the rest would be in the envelopes.

He got to Artie next, when he got to his class. Before it could start, he went and gave him his invitation/character information.

"Here's your guy, Daniel Davidson, travelling with his wife, Clare, that's Tina. You're… good people… You're Nemo with sharks," he explained simply.

"Right," Artie blinked. "Who are you playing?"

"Captain Cliff Cartwright," Kurt nodded, smirking.

"Sailor," Artie nodded, and Kurt quietly bowed his head.

He decided to get the last four invitations settled in one swift motion. He knew he could find them all in one place if he waited until after lunch. He got to the gym, before their respective coaches would call them off.

"Okay, let's see," Kurt pulled one envelope and read out, "Santana." She held out her hands and he held out her envelope. "You're Lara Wyler, you're cruise ship entertainment, singing," he explained. "And you're a sort of go-to girl for… whatever," he shrugged.

"Okay?" she wasn't sure what that meant, but she'd probably find out once she read it. Kurt looked back to his envelopes, fishing out…

"Matt," he gave it out. "George Avery, dance instructor on the cruise."

"Like Dirty Dancing," Santana beamed at him. Matt was happy with this. This left two envelopes, and Kurt handed them to Mike and Brittany both at once.

"And you two, you're the Jensens, James and Amelia," he spoke. The two looked to each other, and Santana looked to Brittany. "Amelia is the doting wife, and James… Well, he's kind of an ass," Kurt explained, and there was a chuckle.

"I'll do my best," Mike nodded.

Now all the invitations were out, everything was mostly set. He wasn't quite settled on the menu, so supplies weren't taken care of. But that wouldn't take long. And after that, the Hummel house would play host to its third helping of murder and mayhem…

TO BE CONTINUED (tuesday)


	2. All Aboard the Titania

CHARACTERS:  
Artie as Daniel Davidson  
Tina as Clare Davidson  
Mike as James Jensen  
Brittany as Amelia Jensen  
Finn as Stewart Stevenson  
Rachel as Angela Stevenson  
Mercedes as Teresa Thomas  
Santana as Lara Wyler  
Matt as George Avery  
and  
Kurt as Captain Cliff Cartwright

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**"The Day the Titania Nearly Sank"**

**2. All Aboard the Titania**

As soon as he would start putting his costume on, he would start feeling the excitement. Things were falling into place, now all he needed was for his guests to start arriving. As he was attempting to present the upper class deck of the great ship Titania, he'd tried to step it up a notch. His father had to hide the credit card or else he would have come to a nasty surprise when a bill came in… but this was good now…

Just as both times before, Artie was the first to arrive; this time around he was accompanied by his pretend-wife, Tina. Even before they had reached the bottom of the stairs, Kurt could see Tina start to live and move as Clare Davidson. There was a different bounce in her step, different look on her face… She kept it silent for the moment, seeing as Mr. Hummel and Mr. Abrams were still there, but once they were gone, she actually managed to crank it up… he didn't think that was doable.

"My, my, Daniel would you look at this place," she spoke with general amusement. Now looking at the boy in the wheelchair, Daniel Davidson was making himself seen.

"Magnificent," he agreed. "You must be the captain," he bowed his head to him.

"Yes, Sir, welcome to the Titania," he reached to shake his hand. "Your bags have been taken to your cabin, so feel free to join the passengers in the dining hall," he indicated with his hand.

"Thanks, Captain!" Clare gave a lively call to the man before following her husband along. He might have chatted with them longer if not for the fact that he had seen a next pair of passengers making their way down the stairs. It was the Stevensons, or at least it would be once Rachel and Finn reached the bottom of the stairs. If her chin was any higher she wouldn't be able to see a thing… in fact she nearly tripped and fell down the stairs. If it hadn't been for Finn catching her in time…

"Well this is… quaint," she pressed the word as they arrived. "Isn't it, dear?"

"Y… yes, yes it is," he nodded, not quite stepped into those new shoes. It took a moment, but then there it was, if only to a point.

"Welcome to the Titania, I'm your Captain…" he started, and Angela Stevenson turned to him, first observing his hat and then reaching to it.

"You sure are," she nodded, nearly touching the hat before he stopped her. She gave a small pout but then smiled and moved on, taking hold of her new husband's arm as she spotted, "Ooh, cocktails!"

Upstairs, Burt was playing doorman despite himself, counting off the number of people left to arrive as he let them in. Most of them would speak a quick 'Hey Mr. Hummel,' before moving right along to the basement. If this was their first time then they'd ask where the basement was, too, but that was it. He'd never gotten the kind of request he did when Mercedes walked in the door. "Hey, Mr. Hummel, can I ask you something?" she spoke as she moved in and he moved to close the door… only to have it nearly hit him in the face, with Santana and Matt ducking in just in time.

"Hey, Mr. Hummel!" Santana called before leading Matt to the basement. Burt sighed, turning to Mercedes again.

"Go ahead," he nodded.

"Think I can borrow you for a couple minutes?" she asked.

"Borrow me for what?" he asked, and she smiled.

Downstairs, or rather on the Titania, the Captain had given something of a dirty eye to his two staff members, Lara and George, for almost missing the boat, but they had just run right by without a care. Now he turned his attention back to the stairs, especially for what he saw next. Passenger Teresa Thomas, escorted in by a man known to the world outside that basement door as… his father, Burt Hummell. He wasn't sure what he was doing, until he started to speak.

"K… Captain," he spoke like an uncomfortable actor. "Here's Miss Thomas for you," he put Mercedes' hand to Kurt. "You know what to do," he bowed his head, then he looked to Mercedes, who gave him a quick little nod. "Right," he smiled and went back upstairs.

"Miss Thomas, I trust everything will be to your liking, I wouldn't want any … upsets."

"Not at all, Captain," she gave her word with a collected face. He let her go on and meet the others before looking around.

"Wyler, Avery!" he called to the pair of them from the entertainment 'department'. They walked up to him, and he crossed his arms. "I better not see any behavior the way I heard of from the previous sail, or I'm dropping you off in England and I'm not bringing you back, understood?"

"Yes, Sir," George gave a quick response, almost frightened.

"Oh, come on, Cliffy, let's not talk like that," Lara sidled up to him with a smirk, tugging at his jacket. He reached for her hand to pull her off, though he held the moment for a beat.

"We've agreed, no more of this," he warned, though not unaffected. She smiled, straightened his jacket before heading off with George. The Captain cleared his throat, re-straightening the jacket as he looked to the stairs. As it was, the next couple was entering. Coming down the stairs, even as they were still Mike and Brittany, they had adopted their personas… He looked strong and in charge, and she quietly, softly hung on to his arm. "Mr. Jensen, welcome to the Titania. I was sorry to hear about your father's passing, he was a valued guest of this ship for years."

"Thank you, Captain," he showed no emotions.

"And Mrs. Jensen, of course," the Captain turned to the wife still at James Jensen's side. She bowed her head and said nothing. "Please, let me show you to the dining hall, we're about to take off, and dinner will be served. Once the Jensens joined the others, they were all guided to the dinner table, where they all had their meal. The Captain ate with them, while Lara and George had their own table to the side. It was midway through the dessert that the Captain got up to put up a sign by the stairs: _"Three days at sea…"_ Now the Titania was nowhere near shore, nowhere near help…

TO BE CONTINUED (THURSDAY)


	3. Murder on the Titania

_A/N: On we go! Not putting the character substitutions up here 'cause well... spoilers ;)_

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**"The Day the Titania Nearly Sank"**

**3. Murder on the Titania**

Three days out at sea, the Titania was midway through its journey, and so the shine on the experience had worn off for most except maybe the Davidsons, who still went around like excited kids in a candy store. Most everyone was going around the 'deck', mingling, talking… All except two, who had gotten a tap on the shoulder, leaving the dinner table, and knew what that meant. Even if the others were not meant to 'see' this, there was a visible shift in all of them, like they were adjusting both what they knew up until then, and preparing for what was soon to come.

For two of them, one directive in their envelopes started to make sense, and George and Lara shared a look, sneaking off from among their guests, perhaps off to find a discreet place to…

When they went around the stairs, Lara delivered a scream worthy of the best drive-in horror classics, backing away while George, with a cooler head, knelt down. The sound had drawn the guests and the Captain to come running. There were more screams as each of them came upon what the singer and the dancer had found… the two bodies huddled together, on the ground, half covered by a blanket but decidedly dead, 'blood' dribbling down their foreheads.

"It's the Jensens, oh my, it's the Jensens…" Clare Davidson heaved, turning to her husband for comfort. The Captain crouched and felt for a pulse at each of their necks. He coughed to cover what he faintly heard from the dead Amelia Jensen when he put his fingers to her neck.

"Dead… murdered," he declared, and there was a chorus of gasps. "Alright, everyone back in the dining hall, and no one leaves. Mr. Avery, make sure of that," he nodded, and the dancer agreed silently. As everyone headed off, the Captain pulled two envelopes from his pocket and placed them near James Jensen's hand before joining the others. A few seconds later they would get up and sneak off into the nearby 'changing room.'

"It tickled," Brittany defended herself to Mike, out of the blue.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. A moment later, Santana ducked in as well.

"Awesome scream," Brittany grinned at her.

"Well that was part dramatics, and part…" she paused, shaking her head and abandoning the end of the sentence to pick up a cloth nearby, wiping at the fake blood on the blonde's forehead.

"I wonder what we're going to be next," she spoke, cringing at the effort Santana put into wiping her forehead clean. Mike had been wiping his own fake blood off, but he reached for the envelopes. He opened one and read.

"Joel Cook… Barman," he revealed.

"Good," Santana chuckled, though she didn't know whether actual drinks would be made available to them. "What about…" she asked him, indicating Brittany. He opened the second envelope.

"Cate Parsons, maid," he read out.

"I played a maid last time, after my death," Santana recalled.

"That was good," Brittany remembered as well.

"We better get dressed and get out there," Mike went to get the clothes already waiting for them.

Meanwhile, back in the 'dining hall,' things were not quiet by any means. Everyone was speaking at once, addressing the Captain with a rightful amount of panic and outrage at the idea of their safety being put in jeopardy.

"What kind of crew do you run, Captain Cartwright?" Stewart Stevenson asked.

"The very best, I assure you," the Captain turned to him, trying not to be rude to his guest.

"What are you saying then, that one of us could have done this?" his wife piped in.

"I never said that," he insisted.

"I was in here, the whole time," Teresa Thomas suddenly added, and they turned to look at her. She only had eyes for the Captain, and he nodded.

"Yes, I know," he promised. "Now as for everyone else's whereabouts, it will be harder to confirm…" This only got him another earful from the gathered group before him. At the same time, the singer, the barman, and the maid rejoined them. Seeing this, the Captain pulled out his whistle and gave it a blow, silencing them, leaving the air silent to catch something of a snort escaping the singer… "Thank you," the Captain spoke, ignoring this. "A terrible thing has happened here. Unfortunately we are still, at best, three days from our destination and turning back wouldn't save time. So we're going to address this, right here, right now, and hopefully we can get everyone's minds at ease before we reach land."

TO BE CONTINUED (Saturday)


	4. Titania Under Siege

_Character substitutions!_  
_Brittany as Cate the maid, Mike as Joel the barman_

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**"The Day the Titania Nearly Sank"**

**4. Titania Under Siege**

The Captain stood, circling the group gathered in the hall, meeting their eyes one at a time. After a moment, he came to a stop, arms behind his back. "All of you here were in contact with the deceased, which makes you all suspects."

"I'd look to that one there," Lara pointed her finger to Teresa Thomas, travelling on her own. "I've seen her around, and she's hiding something."

"I was in here," she repeated. "The whole time."

"Hold on a second," Angela Stevenson chimed in. "Now I remember where I knew your name from," she got up. She may not have been pointing a finger, like Lara had, but her whole stance was accusation. "It was in the newspapers, something about… diamonds… British…" she went on. Teresa Thomas would not look back at her, or anyone else. So the Captain took the decision she wasn't seeming to oppose.

"Miss Thomas is travelling to London to face trial, yes," he spoke, to an eruption of voices from the gathered group. "Quiet!" he called to them. "The point is she has been watched, and if she had done anything…" he went on, but Stewart Stevenson replied.

"All the time?" he asked, and the others looked to him, to Teresa, to the Captain. He didn't answer the question, and Teresa was a suspect just like the rest of them… even more, to some of them.

"When was the last time anyone saw the Jensens alive?" the Captain asked. Everyone thought.

"We saw them at breakfast, didn't we?" Clare Davidson looked to her husband, who hadn't let go of her hand. He nodded, first to her, then to the Captain.

"That's right, yes," he confirmed. "We sat together…" he paused, thinking how they were gone now. "Mr. Jensen was going on about his father and this table, something about a feud with his business partner, Adamson… And Mrs. Jensen just ate. She didn't say anything."

"The poor woman…" Clare shook her head. Her husband patted her hand, still in his.

"Anyone else?" the Captain looked around.

"I did," Cate the maid raised her hand, and everyone turned to look at her. "I cleaned their room… cabin… Cabin?" she looked to Lara the singer, who nodded. "It was before lunch. Mr. Jensen looked upset about something, but he got quiet when I showed up." The Captain looked to the group still, waiting for more facts.

"I shouldn't speak ill of the dead," Angela Stevenson spoke up, hands in her lap. "But I saw them arguing, shortly after lunch. Or at least he argued and she couldn't get a word in."

"She came to me, mid-afternoon," Lara cut in. "The little lady wanted something to help her sleep…" she explained. She usually kept her dealings to herself, which was what made her the go-to girl on this boat, but in the circumstances she could make an exception. "I told her I'd have it for her after dinner…" she shook her head, remembering the grizzly image she'd come upon.

"Anyone else?" the Captain didn't think there'd be, but he had to check. No one spoke. "So mid-afternoon, that's the last time anyone saw the Jensens alive, is that right?" he asked, and one by one everyone slowly nodded. "So that gives us roughly the period where they were killed. We know some of the circumstances of their last day… Is anything ringing a bell, something you saw or heard?" he asked the group.

"Mr. Jensen was at the bar late last night. He wouldn't say what was on his mind, but I could tell there was something," Joel the barman pitched in. "I just had to keep his glass filled."

"Did he mention this to any one of you?" asked the Captain.

"James Jensen was a hard man to crack, you realize that," Daniel Davidson put in. "Even if you knew him…"

"Maybe that's true, but that doesn't take us any closer. Someone brutally attacked both him and his wife, and that someone is one of you, So I want to hear exactly what you've been up to?" He could find it, had to. This was his ship and he knew it inside and out, there was no way someone would come in and take that away. He'd go down with his ship first.

TO BE CONCLUDED (MONDAY)


	5. Titania Returns to Shore

_A/N: Last chapter! :)_

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**"The Day the Titania Nearly Sank"**

**5. Titania Returns to Shore**

The Captain looked across the gathered faces. He had this feeling… It wasn't just that the killer was among them; he was almost positive someone here knew something that would blow everything wide open. Nothing was going to happen with him just standing there. He had to create situations to get them talking.

"Lara, George, Joel, Cate, follow me," he looked to the staff. "The rest of you stay here," he told the other five. They did as told, and then he led the four that followed him over to another corner. "Sit here, I'll be right back," he told them and then he went up the stairs.

Kurt walked through the door to find… "Dad?" Burt looked to be hovering near the door, almost… curious? He gave a silent nod.

"Everything alright down there?" he asked.

"It's fine, they're plotting," Kurt explained, moving to the kitchen to get the dessert, which he'd decided to keep for after they 'solved' the mystery, once they were all themselves again.

"That Santana girl can scream. Mrs. Potts called from next door, she thought someone was hurt."

"Right… Don't worry, there shouldn't be any more screaming now, we're…" Kurt started, and then there was noise from downstairs, come to prove him wrong. "I'll handle it, before someone calls the cops." He grabbed the dessert tray and started down to the basement. As he made it down there, he found everyone arguing loudly, ganging up on Teresa Thomas. The other four were standing there, silent. The Captain put the platter down before moving in. "Enough!" his voice carried about them and they stopped.

"She did it!" Angela pointed the finger at the woman.

"I'm no killer," Teresa insisted.

"I find that hard to believe," Stewart put in with a chuckle.

"Quiet!" the Captain spoke again, and now they paid attention. "I will hear no more shouting. If someone has something to say, it better not be wild accusations." Everything was quiet for a moment.

"Captain?" a voice came from behind him. Everyone looked to find George, the dancer, had stood forward. He looked uncertain about speaking up, but he did it anyway. "I don't want to accuse anyone, but I heard something and I think it might help."

"Go on," the Captain bowed his head. George's eyes veered left and right.

"I was in the ballroom, resting, but I heard voices and it woke me up. I didn't hear everything, but I heard the name Adamson, like they said earlier."

"From the Jensens?" the Captain asked.

"No… From them," he indicated the Stevensons. Everyone looked to them.

"I think you have us confused," Angela shook her head.

"No, I know it was you… Your perfume," he explained after a beat.

"Hold on…" Clare Davidson spoke up, looking to her husband. "When we came aboard, there had been a mix up and some bags were put in our room by mistake, one of them had a mark on the inside… A. Adamson…." Daniel was remembering this as well, and he looked up, to Angela Stevenson.

"Maiden name?" he asked, taking his wife's hand. Angela didn't move.

"What are you accusing her… my wife didn't do anything," he put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm thinking it might have been the two of you," Teresa Thomas spoke up. "She's too small to have carried the Jensens and hide them," she pointed out.

"Now, hold on…" Stewart spoke up, but Angela was good to burst.

"He got what he deserved," she quietly seethed, and Stewart knew the truth was coming out. "He's just like his father. He ruined my family name, my father, all the work he did to take care of us, because Jensen was greedy. But my Stewart avenged Daddy," she smirked madly. "Real shame for the little wife. But he had to keep his trophy by his side all the time, so she had to go, too… I smashed her pretty little face in," she smiled.

The lights flashed, signal for the game to be over, and all turned to find Santana had rung in the ending. "We weren't done, were we?" Artie asked, confused.

"Sure we were, we got the killers," she indicated, keeping it at that.

"Okay, well… dessert time, I guess," Kurt moved to get the tray. On the way, Brittany grabbed the Captain hat off his head and put it on her own. He was going to argue, but she was just smiling, and he let her go with it. Desserts were passed around, and everyone sat where they could or wanted.

"What did you guys think?" Tina asked of Mike and Matt, the two newbies to their 'troupe.'

"It was fun," Mike nodded.

"Yeah. I had no idea what that thing about Adamson meant, in the information, and then when you guys mentioned it… I liked that," he smirked.

"There's only two of us missing now," Mercedes pointed out. "Puck and Quinn…." The others realized this as well.

"Are you going to do another one soon?" Brittany asked, tipping the hat on her head before continuing with her dessert.

"In a little while, sure," he confirmed. "We can try and get them to join us," he nodded.

"You have to make it a special one then," Rachel pointed out.

"I do have a few hanging about," Kurt admitted.

"Like what?" Santana asked, curious. Kurt looked back at her as though to say 'I'm not telling you.' "Oh, come on," she begged.

"Eat your dessert," he told her. He wasn't going to tell her he knew exactly which game he wanted to use for a very first game with all of New Directions.

THE END


End file.
